Ski Helmet Shopping Tips

At Skis.com you will find a wide selection of ski helmets for kids and adults for all types of skiing. We stock helmets for beginner skiers looking for their first helmet to seasoned racers looking for something to replace their old helmet. With the advancement of technology and the use of more appealing colors, buying and wearing a helmet is no longer boring. It becomes an expression of your personality and in some cases, your style of skiing.

Skiing Helmet Styles

Here we are going to briefly explain the different styles of ski helmets we stock and what you should expect with each one.

Full Face – This type of helmet offers a chin guard and typically a visor and are the helmet of choice of ski racers looking for full facial protection. You most often see this type of ski helmet worn by those participating in Downhill, Super G and Skiercross events. These helmets are still built to be lightweight and comfortable often featuring carbon and other lightweight materials.

Full Shell - These offer full coverage over the ears with only venting breaking up the complete coverage.

Half Shell – These will offer soft ear pads on an otherwise completely hard shell helmet. The soft ear flaps are typically removable and can be taken out for more air to come through on a warmer day. These are most popular with skiers of all abilities. They are full featured, have washable liners and are very stylish and warm.

Features Found on Skiing Helmets

Within these different styles of ski helmets there are also different features and options which make one sytle unique over another. Below we are going to cover some of the differences you will find when shopping for ski helmets.

Audio - This type of helmet comes with speakers already pre-wired into it or is capable of adding speakers as an add on. Prewired helmets are plug and play. You can hook up your portable music device right to the helmet, push play and you are on your way. If the helmet is audio compatible, you must purchase separate hardware to add to the helmet in order to convert it to a full audio helmet. If an audio helmet is something you think you might want down the road, it is generally less expensive to buy a full audio helmet than to convert it later on..

Ventilation – Most ski helmets will come with some type of venting but you will want to pay special attention if that venting is fixed or adjustable. Adjustable venting means you can open and close the vents depending on the situation and fixed vents are simply fixed and cannot be manually opened or closed.

Brimmed - Ski helmets with a small brim similar to a baseball cap have become very popular. The brim on these helmets helps to keep the sun out of your eyes and can also serve as minimal face protection when skiing through trees.

Hopefully now you have a bit better understanding of all the different ski helmets you will find here at Skis.com and the different features to look for within each style. If you still need more advice, please review our ski helmet buying guide.